4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[BeckyBoo]

....apologies if this seems a little unsavoury, I have found (probably rather disgracefully ) at the back of my cupboards, three packets of dried beans - chickpeas, butter beans and lentils to be precise - which are WAY past their sell by dates. Bearing in mind they're dried, would you still eat them? I have to say I'm a bit sceptical about use by and sell by dates - I think they're a "health and safety" backside covering exercise a lot of the time, and as I said, as they're dried they don't seem to have changed in appearance or anything. Only I hatewaste and as I'm always broke it seems criminal to throw them away. It'd only be me, not the kids!

 

BeckyBoo

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I would use them . But then I often use things way out of date (as long as they're not crawling ). Never been ill yet .

[Gamebird]

I suppose it depends just how old they are. If they're years out of date (it has been known in my household ) then maybe not but a few months won't make any difference to dried food IMHO.

[Snowy]

Me too, I'd use 'em. I empty things like that into containers in the cupboard so haven't a clue when their sell by/use by date is (probably is a few years past). If they smell OK and not musty they get used.

[Willow]

I'm with the others - if it's dried food that smells and looks ok I use it...

[WarrensWorld]

Eileen, says if they're still sealed no weevils. Then they they're OK, also sealed they can last up to 40 years!. Might take a little longer to cook though.

[Space Chick]

I always consider whether its "best before" or "use by", for things that are "use by", I am more reluctant to use them after the date. However "best before" I tend to ignore mostly, and for dried stuff I'd use it no matter how long they had been hanging about.

 

I think back to when I used to go into my Nannas Pantry, she always had things in there that had been hanging around for donkeys years and would still use them when the need arose and it never did me any harm

[BeckyBoo]

Thank you thank you! Good to know it's not just me (if I end up serving them to anyone else I just won't tell them!! )

 

BeckyBoo

[Happy chickens!]

What have you got to loose by trying? If they look ok, they probably are, but they might have gone stale which you'll only find out by cooking so wouldn't chance if any guests are coming round!

 

Have found that best before is really true for packets of breakfast cereal... they taste like cardboard. (And old crisps are really yuk too! ) So, when would you like to come for dinner at mine?

[Milly]

I would probably try using them. But you might find they have gone very hard and need longer to cook.

 

Milly

[Alis girls]

If it aint wearing a green fur coat - give it a try - if it smells dodgey or has bugs in - bin it

[Lesley]

If it aint wearing a green fur coat - give it a try - if it smells dodgey or has bugs in - bin it

 

Same here!

[Blackrocksrock]

If it aint wearing a green fur coat - give it a try - if it smells dodgey or has bugs in - bin it

 

Same here!

 

 

And here - go for it

[Yorkshire Pudding]

If it aint wearing a green fur coat - give it a try - if it smells dodgey or has bugs in - bin it

 

Same here!

 

 

And here - go for it

 

That rule has kept me alive for 40 years... they just might need a while longer to cook.

[Olly]

Eat them!

 

Meat, fish and dairy products are different, but with dried food like that the worst that can happen is they'll taste a bit stale when they're cooked. In which case your chooks will love them!

 

I haven't got time to research the 'oldest things' in my cupboard but I bet there's at least one item that predates moving here in 2006.

[Yorkshire Pudding]

at Olly!

 

I had a tinned steak and kidney pud that was sent off to uni with me in September 1987. I never ate it, but it moved around with me in my box of kitchen bits and bobs for my 4 year undergrad course. By the time I graduated, it had become more of a good luck charm than a potential dinner. It moved to Leeds with me when I started my postgrad course and stayed in the kitchen.

 

I think we finally threw it away in 2001

 

It was probably perfectly edible!

[Egluntyne]

Definitely use them. They will be fab in soups and stews.

[Milly]

I think there's usually a clue to indicate things have gone off. Like the fact that a tin of artichokes in my cupboard, best before 2006, was leaking black ooze Not sure how long it had been giving that signal, but we threw it out last week when we finally noticed.....

 

Milly

[BeckyBoo]

I think there's usually a clue to indicate things have gone off. Like the fact that a tin of artichokes in my cupboard, best before 2006, was leaking black ooze Not sure how long it had been giving that signal, but we threw it out last week when we finally noticed.....

 

Milly

 

I'll def look out for black ooze

 

BeckyBoo

[Ain't Nobody Here]

What a waste . That black ooze would have made a lovely dressing .

[Helly Welly]

We stick to offical guidelines which say 'best befores' are alright for three months but 'use bys' should be strictly adhered to. OH likes to employ the sniff test, if it smells alright he'll eat it

[cathybc]

I cleared out my kitchen cupboard last week, the oldest tins were about 2005 I think...I am gradually working through them, nothing has appeared 'off' yet and I am still here with no ill effects....throwing them away just seems such a waste, although I would if they smelt/looked funny. The cats helped me with some chicken soup from 2006. I reckoned that if those fussy little madams thought it was OK...

[Reikiranf]

I tend to ignore best before and use by dates & decide whether it's edible by how it looks and smells.

 

Think about it.... if you bought something and opened it well in advance of the date and it had gone off would you eat it because the date on the pack said it was ok to eat?

 

I certainly wouldn't, I'd take it back to the shop and get a refund

 

Amanda

 

ps did anyone watch 'how clean is your house last night'? the place was terrible but that fridge

[Helly Welly]

I saw that fridge, that woman had serious problems

[Ygerna]

*donning my QA Managers hat*

 

Use by dates are the last date that food has been tested and checked to be safe to eat. It *may* be safe to eat it after that date but there are no guarantees. Also, bacteria, yeasts and moulds don't always smell so sniff testing has limited guarantees too. Manufactured Foods have an allowance of contaminants, levels that they are allowed to go up to before the product has to be withdrawn, so it is possible for food to go off before its useby date if it has not been stored correctly. Fridges and Freezers slow bacterial growth, or cause them to hibernate (so to speak) it rarely kills them. So, if either of these are not working properly, or get left open, its possible for them to start to mulitply to dangerous levels. Its why you should defrost things in the fridge, not on the side in the kitchen.

 

Best Before dates are the date when something will still be guaranteed to taste ok and be safe to eat, IF it has been stored correctly. After this date it may still be safe to eat but its quality may be affected.

 

The key to safe food is really storage. If its stored safely them risk is low if dates watched. If stored incorrectly then the date wont guarantee its safety anyway.

 

Bateria, yeast and moulds need four things to grow, Food, Water, Warmth and time. Remove one of more of those things and its very hard for them to progress.

 

ETA- In case you were wondering, yes we do eat foods that have gone past their dates but only ones I am confidant will be ok to eat based on my experiences.